


21 Hours

by KangAshley



Series: 21 [1]
Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Feels, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, but only half mean, i'm not exactly sure what to tag here, not sure what au this is but this is au, ong is lost, painting reference, seongwoo is kinda mean here, they're in busan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 02:31:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13180494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KangAshley/pseuds/KangAshley
Summary: Ong is convinced he has to find who he truly is and does so when he meets Daniel. However, Daniel gets lost in the process.(yeah I'm not sure what was up with this summary either)





	21 Hours

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShirayukiSayaka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShirayukiSayaka/gifts).



> Just so everyone knows, this was based on a side couple in the book "Si" by Bob Ong so there are some similarities between this fic and that side couple.
> 
> I also made a playlist for this which you can listen to here: [21 Hours OST](https://open.spotify.com/user/bnsudsyahehw1lpad6vibukme/playlist/0UE1we8NmK9ZMd5UQKo7vI)

_ 9:00 a.m. _

Daniel isn’t late. He’s about to head to his flight and start a new chapter elsewhere. He waves goodbye to his family and friends and a wave of hurt hits him. He brushes his brown bangs away from his eyes, trying to hide the fact that he was already crying. He turns around to leave but a hand on his shoulder stops him.

“Are you sure? You’re going to leave everything behind?” Jisung asks a trail of tears down his face. Daniel smiles sadly at him. A memory of the boy he used to think he was flashed in his mind for an instant.

“Hyung, I have no other reason to stay.”

-

_ 9:00 a.m., years earlier _

Ong Seongwoo was late for his boat. He had checked out of his hotel late and got lost on the way to the port so now he was left with his big travel pack walking around the beach. He swore this would be the last time he would take a trip to Busan to “find himself” whatever the fuck that meant. He stared at his useless ticket in one hand and the replacement on the other. He tucked the new ticket safely in his bag and ripped the old one to shreds.

“Hey, you know that’s littering right?” Seongwoo turned to see a man with a big build and… was that pink hair?

“Are you a police officer?” Seongwoo asked, tone flat.

“Uh, no.” The man blushed, almost mimicking the color of his hair.

“Good citizen then,” Seongwoo concluded. “But frankly, I’m mad and don’t care alright? So leave me alone.”

“W-wait,” the stranger said. Seongwoo raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue speaking while maintaining the bored look on his face. The stranger was quiet for a while until the sound of Seongwoo’s growling stomach interrupted the silence. He flushed in embarrassment as the stranger laughed softly. “Shall I accompany you to brunch?”

 

_ 9:30 a.m. _

“Why are you treating a stranger to brunch?” A valid question Kang Daniel doesn’t have the answer to. He picked on the beans that came with his order for a while before facing the handsome stranger he caught littering.

“Kang Daniel,” he said instead, reaching out his hand. The stranger looked puzzled for a moment before finally registering what he meant.

“Are you a foreigner? Is that the reason for the crazy hair?” the man sitting across from him asked. Daniel retracted the hand he held out and ran his fingers through his pink locks.

“Ah, no. I’m a resident Korean from Busan.” Daniel smiled. The stranger squinted as if the sun was suddenly in his eyes. “You’re not gonna tell me your name?”

“It’s Ong Seongwoo.”

“Gong?”

“It’s O-n-g.” The stranger, Seongwoo, Daniel corrected, spelled out. “Not Gong, Hong, or Wong. It’s Ong Seongwoo.”

“Ong Seongwoo,” Daniel repeated, liking the way it rolled off his tongue.

 

_ 10:21 a.m. _

“You just let strangers leave your things in your apartment?” Seongwoo asked after moments of silence. “Is that a thing? You pick up strangers that get left by their boat to get some? Or to kill them and make them stew?”

“You have a wild imagination,” Daniel remarked.

“You’re much weirder for doing what you did, believe me.” Seongwoo snorted.

“You’re just a pessimist, believe me,” Daniel said, copying his companion’s tone. They continued walking around the park until Daniel thought of breaking the silence. He was very much intrigued by the handsome man next to him. “Are you here visiting family?”

“All my family members are dead and I’m the last Ong,” Seongwoo said bluntly, not missing a beat. Daniel stared at him for a while before Seongwoo laughed albeit emptily. “I like to travel alone. I think it will make me get to know who I am better.”

“What kind of person doesn’t know who they are or what they want?” Daniel countered.

“You think you can tell me who you are and what you want?” Daniel thought he can.

 

_ 11:36 a.m. _

“My favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate because I like sweets in general,” Daniel said, licking the dessert he bought from a small ice cream shop. “And you?”

“Cookies and cream,” Seongwoo said, half to answer Daniel’s question and half to place his order. The cashier handed him his cone that Daniel paid for. “But just knowing your favorite things won’t guarantee you know who you really are.”

“I think they can help,” Daniel argued.

“You think what makes a person is what they like?” Seongwoo questioned.

“I think it’s their opinions and the reason behind what they like.”

 

_ 12:12 p.m. _

They walk a little farther down the sidewalk, talking about what Seongwoo claims to be insignificant topics but what his pink-haired companion thinks is interesting. Daniel sees a movie poster about the new Disney remake. “Want to watch it?” Seongwoo looked at the poster Daniel pointed to.

“You realize you asked me to leave my things at your apartment, thus I have no wallet with me right now, right?” Seongwoo said.

“You realize you’re the only person who uses the word ‘thus’, right?” Daniel teased. Seongwoo kept his face blank, not having any of it. “Yes, I’m paying.”

“I have manners,” Seongwoo said, feeling guilty about the fact that someone he met a few hours ago was treating him to so much.

“Could’ve fooled me.” Daniel teased again but Seongwoo looked a little more irritated at his statement. “Are you mad?” Daniel asked and when he received no reply he grinned. “I can make it up to you by treating you to a movie.”

Seongwoo thought Daniel was unbelievable. Unbelievably cute? Hm, just unbelievable.

 

_ 3:45 p.m. _

“I liked this remake better. It was much cleaner than the original movie, plus the new songs were good.” Seongwoo said, recalling the movie they watched as they wandered around the mall.

“I told you a movie could help you get to know who you are.” Daniel smiled.

“I literally just made some comments any critic could say, what the fuck are you talking about?” Seongwoo deadpanned. Daniel shook his head and sighed in disappointment.

“Oh my Ong,” Seongwoo was going to call him out on saying ‘my Ong’ but Daniel was getting into his dramatics too much for him to interrupt. “Has the very story of the movie not given you enough answer?”

“What?” Seongwoo asked, more confused than before. Daniel pouted, seeing as he was really confused at the point.

“The moral of the story was sometimes, you need someone else to help bring out the real you,” Daniel said, softer and more serious. “Maybe that’s why you never found yourself no matter how hard you tried going to all these places since you always traveled alone.”

“I’m pretty sure the moral of the story was something like don’t judge the book by its cover,” Seongwoo said but with less bite and sarcasm from before. Daniel still looked like he was going to sulk the whole day so he smiled, really smiled and said “I’m kidding. Maybe you’re right.” Daniel smiled brightly.

“I said maybe,” Seongwoo repeated.

“I’ve learned that your maybes were mostly yeses.” Seongwoo gave him an unamused look to which Daniel just chuckled. He glanced at his phone, checking the time. “We have to go back to the beach.”

“Why?”

“Sunsets at Busan beaches are the best!” Daniel exclaimed.

 

_ 4:37 p.m. _

“And what’s so special about this sunset?” Seongwoo asked head cocked to one side. They sat on the sand, admiring how the orange sun sank into the pinkish waves. It reminded Seongwoo of his friend’s weird choice in hair color. Could he even be considered a friend?

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Daniel said sounding slightly exasperated.

“What?” Seongwoo said, confused not for the first time since spending time with Daniel.

“Look at it.” Daniel focused on the sight in front of him. His concentration evident by the tight position his jaw was in and the hard gaze he gave his celestial counterpart.

“I  _ am _ looking,” Seongwoo grumbled, eyes half-lidded in a kind of bored expression. He wasn’t really bored, he just wanted to frustrate Daniel.

“No, really look at it,” Daniel emphasized. “Doesn’t the view relax you? It kind of feels like staring at your favorite painting.”

“You have a favorite painting?” Seongwoo asked in pleasant surprise.

“Sunset at Sea by Pierre-Auguste Renoir,” Daniel answered.

“There is no way you pronounced that correctly.” Seongwoo teased.

“I’ll have you know I’m a man of taste,” Daniel informed. “You don’t have one?”

“Starry Night,” Seongwoo answered. Daniel thought the contrast of their interests were nice. That he liked the light but gave way to the night while Seongwoo admired the dark with hints of light from the stars.

“Of course you would pick a popular painting.” Daniel teased back.

“Not just the starry night. The one over the rhone.” Seongwoo said as if that wasn’t mainstream but at least it wasn’t as typical as the usual starry night. Daniel just hummed in agreement and soon he found himself humming one of the songs they had listened to.

“Beauty and the Beast?” Seongwoo questioned followed by a mocking tone, “Of course you would pick the popular song to sing.”

“It was just catchy, okay?” Daniel rolled his eyes. “You didn’t have a favorite song from the film?”

“Something there.” Seongwoo smiled, like, really smiled, before turning his attention back to the disappearing sun in front of them. Daniel wordlessly agreed with his song choice. There really was something there that wasn’t there before. And he wasn’t an artist, but if he was he would paint this moment and capture it forever.

 

_ 6:23 p.m. _

“We can’t eat here,” Seongwoo said after looking at Daniel’s fridge. Daniel was offended, obviously. Seongwoo was rummaging through his fridge and he was being picky about food?

“Well excuse me for not having food that you would like,” Daniel said with a huff.

“No, not because I’m picky.” Seongwoo closed the fridge. “There is nothing in there except some condiments and one egg.” Daniel felt a little embarrassed afterward but Seongwoo was smiling wolfishly. “Come on, I’ll treat this time.”

 

_ 9:24 p.m. _

“I can’t believe it’s already this late,” Daniel commented. They were in a convenience store on their way back to Daniel’s small apartment. Seongwoo paid for a few cans of beer, claiming it was a necessity. Daniel teased him about being an alcoholic and received a firm punch on the arm.

“I can’t believe I tolerated your chat about different kinds of gummy candy for that long,” Seongwoo said, sincerely astounded someone could go on and on about what he thought was greatly irrelevant. He’s lucky he didn’t bring up cats because Daniel could go even longer discussing the animal he loved so much.

“As if you didn’t overshare earlier.” Daniel countered. “I can probably recite your life story backward and forward.”

“You asked, idiot,” Seongwoo said, grabbing a can of beer in the plastic bag Daniel held and taking a gulp out of it as they walked back to Daniel’s place.

“So immature,” Daniel mumbled. “Who would have thought you’d be older than me?”

“Only by a year.” Seongwoo reminded. He didn’t need to, though. It felt like Daniel knew him like the back of his hand.

“You know what we should do?” Daniel asked once they reached his apartment.

“What?”

“We should check out the rooftop of this building.” Daniel grinned.

“And why is that?” Seongwoo asked, crossing his arms over his chest in a stance that challenged Daniel to give him a good reason not to just sleep already.

“Don’t you want to see the starry night over the rhone?”

 

_ 10:58 p.m. _

That was how Daniel and Seongwoo ended up on the roof of the Busan boy’s apartment. They lay down on the blanket and pillows they brought while they drank the last of the beer. They were tipsy, but not drunk out of their mind. Not yet, at least. Daniel was sure he could get drunk off of the elating feelings he had been experiencing since he first talked to Seongwoo.

“You were right,” Seongwoo said, getting up from his position to peer over the edge of the roof. Daniel’s apartment was a few feet away from the beach so it kind of did imitate his favorite painting.

“Course I was,” Daniel said. “There’s no surprise in that.” Seongwoo scoffed and laid back down on the blankets they set up.

 

_ 11:10 p.m. _

“Look hyung!” Daniel pointed to the sky. “Some shooting stars!”

“Oh, now you’re calling me hyung?” Seongwoo said but he noticed Daniel didn’t bite back with his usual reply because his eyes were shut closed tightly. “Did you wish for something?”

 

_ 11:11 p.m. _

“You.” Daniel smiled warmly. He was sure Seongwoo blushed at his sudden straight-forwardness. Or was that the beer? Maybe it was the cold? A silence enveloped them. Seongwoo looking everywhere but Daniel and Daniel mentally kicking himself for what he said.

 

_ 11:21 p.m. _

Daniel, with a surge of new found confidence, sat up and took off his jacket. He laid it on top of Seongwoo, who finally looked at him after ten minutes. Daniel told himself that his sweater was enough to keep him warm. He also thanked the alcohol for the bravery to do so.

 

_ 11:24 p.m. _

Seongwoo inched closer, grabbing one of Daniel’s hands and holding it in his. Daniel looked over at the older man.

“I thought your hands would be cold,” Seongwoo said, avoiding eye contact again and snuggling into Daniel’s jacket.

 

_ 11:36 p.m. _

Daniel stared at Seongwoo for a while, admiring his black hair and how it swept over his eyes. How his eyebrows always arched elegantly when he was teasing and how the triad of moles on his face made him look unique. He stared at Seongwoo’s chapped lips from the cold and kind of regretted bringing him up here if it was this cold but also being relieved because maybe he had an excuse to kiss him.

Seongwoo laughed when he caught Daniel staring.

 

_ 11:42 p.m. _

Seongwoo stared at Daniel. His mouth was slightly agape, revealing his perfectly imperfect bunny teeth. Great, Daniel had him spitting out paradoxes. Seongwoo stared at the mole on Daniel’s face, just below his right eye. He had noticed that for a while now. He also noticed he had no eyelids and that they didn’t need any other light source as long as Daniel was smiling.

Daniel laughed when he caught Seongwoo staring.

 

_ 11:47 p.m. _

They’re both much closer now, feeling their breaths mingle. They’re also facing each other, eyes locked and hand not letting go of the other. Seongwoo was about to fall asleep when Daniel’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“You’re breathtakingly beautiful. Did you know that?”

Seongwoo could start being cocky again and tease him but there was something about the moment that made him not want to.

“Why? Do you like me?” Seongwoo asked but Daniel could tell there was gratitude hidden in his words.

“I do,” Daniel said almost too quickly.

“No, I asked why do you like me?” Seongwoo corrected but Daniel knew that wasn’t the original question.

“I don’t know,” Daniel said and his honesty surprised him.

“You’re the only person who’s answered correctly.” Seongwoo smiled.

 

_ 11:51 p.m. _

“I like you.” Seongwoo voiced his thoughts aloud, breaking the silence between them. Daniel didn’t know how to respond at first but when he decided to speak, he was cut off by Seongwoo.

“I’m not asking you to give me all your time and attention. I’m not asking you to accept me for all that I am, whatever that means. I’m not asking you to get down on one knee and propose to me right this instant. I’m not asking you to live with me happily ever after.” Seongwoo breathed in deeply. “I’m just saying I like you.”

Daniel would have said he liked,  _ loved _ him back but he didn’t.

 

_ 11:57 p.m. _

Neither of them wanted to lose the staring competition between them yet.

 

_ 12:00 a.m. _

Daniel was more than willing to give Seongwoo the taste of victory as long as Daniel could taste those chapped lips. The kiss was simple and held all the things they would have said to each other if they weren’t too shy or tired. That was how they fell asleep which was probably a bad idea because they could die of hypothermia but they didn’t care.

 

_ 4:37 a.m. _

They both woke up because of the bright rays of the sun rising from the distance. Seongwoo smiled at Daniel. He had been doing that a lot more recently. Daniel returned it, however much weaker as the reality set in. Ong Seongwoo was going to leave.

 

_ 5:28 a.m. _

“Can’t I go with you?” Daniel frowned.

“You have money to buy a ticket?” Seongwoo asked. Daniel didn’t answer because both of them knew it was no.

“I’ll be back. I just have to take care of some things.” Seongwoo said.

“How do I know that?” Daniel pouted.

“Trust,” Seongwoo grinned before placing a quick peck on Daniel’s cheek. “Trust that one day, I’ll be back on the beach where we first met.”

“I’ll miss you,” Daniel said and he kind of hated himself for sounding so needy. Seongwoo secretly liked it.

“Uh,” Seongwoo patted on his pockets then looked down at his wrist. He took off his woven bracelet and handed it to Daniel. “There, I never take that off and I’ll be sure to come back for it.”

“Come back for me.” Daniel corrected silently but Seongwoo heard it loud and clear. He nodded and smiled warmly at Daniel, cupping his face so that they were looking eye to eye.

“Come back for you.”

 

_ 6:00 a.m. _

Daniel stood by and watched Seongwoo’s boat leave. He was standing on the edge of the boat waving to Daniel, hoping he could be seen. He didn’t have to do that since Daniel could easily spot him no matter the distance.

Daniel waved back at him, a sad smile plastered on his face that he’s sure Seongwoo wouldn’t be able to see. He was sure Seongwoo blew a kiss and he returned the gesture as well. He started to count the minutes until they would reunite.

 

_ \--:-- _

Minutes turned to hours, hours to days, days to weeks. Winter turned to spring, spring to summer, summer to fall, and fall to winter. The seasons changed, the years had passed, and Daniel grew tired of walking to the beach every single day in hopes of meeting the sarcastic young man with a constellation on his face one more time. The woven bracelet had never left his wrist and deep down Daniel knew it will never leave him at all.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this! Feel free to follow me on twitter [[x]](https://twitter.com/loveongnieI)
> 
> if you gonna do it manually then that's @loveongnieI with the last "L" actually being a capital "i" (shoutout to the inactive person who's taken the username smh).


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